E. V. Homeowners Trade Suburbia for City Style
By Jennifer Wood
TRIBUNE

For some people, the bigger the home, the better. And for them, an equally sizable commute to work and play is worth the five-bedroom house with a pool.

But a new crop of residents is willing to sacrifice size to live where the action is. Their demands are finally being met with a new option in urban living.

Lofts, residential spaces immortalized by New York City boroughs, are slowly making their way into the East Valley’s downtown areas.

"We are selling a lifestyle," said Crel Vogel, sales representative at Third Avenue Lofts in downtown Scottsdale.

"This is so completely converse to our thinking. This is about being able to park your car on a Friday after work and not having to get in your car again until Monday."

While location is a standard amenity, definitions of loft design vary.

Here, lofts are not constrained to old, refurbished buildings or brownstones. With the exception of Orpheum Lofts in Phoenix and a few privately owned spaces in downtown Mesa, a majority of local versions are new construction, which allows for such additions as carpet and privacy walls.

Modern art and furniture, once the hallmark of loft living, remains popular but is no longer a requirement.

"I think an eclectic look is kind of the way to go," said interior designer Libby Copeland. Copeland won the Arizona North Chapter of the America Society of Interior Design Best of Show 2002 for her work on a residence in Artisan Lofts in downtown Phoenix. "You can put antiques in there and mix them with modern pieces. Just make sure there is no heavy accessorizing."

We can say goodbye to stereotypes of loft dwellers, too. Not many artists and musicians can afford East Valley lofts, which range from $150,000 to more than $1 million.

"This is not your first-time home buyer," said Joe Shopper, associate broker of Cambridge Properties, which manages Orpheum Lofts.

Shopper has received calls from retirees, doctors and agents for Arizona Diamondbacks players.

Prospective buyers range in age from 30 to 70.

Still, some loft essentials remain. Developers and builders cite openness as a first priority and in turn, concrete, brick and galvanized steel ductwork are often left exposed. The result is a home with a trendy, urban look and feel.

And while the arty types who pioneered loft living may not be the typical resident anymore, their innovative, individualistic legacy has endured.

"A lot of people that are going for this loft concept, depending on location, are pretty worldly," said John Spicola, owner of Bo Concept in Chandler and Scottsdale.

Room to play "When you think about it, from the day you were born, you lived in a box. Without knowing it, you adapt to those spaces," said Phoenix real estate agent Helen Prier.

Prier, who specializes in urban living, recently returned from a tour of Denver, another area where loft living has taken off.

"With lofts, you finally get to ask yourself, ‘What do I want?’ I look at loft living as giving you the opportunity to live the way you want to."

Because of their open spaces, lofts allow for — and often require — flexibility. In turn, owners have room to play around with ideas that cater to their lifestyle. Unlike the owners of custom-built homes, though, loft dwellers tend to seek one-of-a-kind touches that separate them from their neighbors.

"This place just worked out perfectly for all of my hobbies," said 33-year-old loft owner Ian Morehouse.

Morehouse lives above his parents’ antique mall in downtown Mesa. The 4,500-square-foot space, restored by Morehouse and his family over the course of two years, features curved walls, an exposed bathroom ceiling, hardwood floors, a sprawling rooftop patio and large, airy rooms.

"I haven’t brought one person up here who wasn’t stunned," Morehouse said.

Morehouse’s guilty pleasure is a pseudo garage where he works on custom Harley-Davidsons. The motorcycles are lifted up on a man-powered cargo elevator that was already part of the building.

Owners of new lofts opt for similar personalization.

"Most of these units are customized," said Joann Ramierez, a sales representative at The Lofts at Orchid House in downtown Tempe. "There are very few lofts that look alike. (The buyers) always had an idea of what they wanted the loft to look like."

Requests at Third Avenue Lofts in Scottsdale have included "garages within garages" for expensive cars and a clear glass shower that leaves bathers exposed to anyone who enters the front door.

"If you can dream it and we can get someone to draw it and the city says OK, we’ll do it,"

Vogel said. "Whatever your personality is, the loft will accommodate it."

Making space Despite the great locations and interior flexibility, loft living does not come without a price.

Privacy, for one, is all but eliminated by the sheer openness of space. There are no private pools or back yards, although developers try to make up for that with luxurious community pools and other amenities.

But the largest issue?

"Space is the single biggest problem in lofts — storage space," Spicola said.

Finding dual-purpose furniture, such as room dividers, is imperative when furnishing lofts. Bo Concept, a Danish company known for modern designs and clean lines, is particularly loft-friendly because all of the pieces, from a leather couch to an entertainment unit, can be custom-built to meet a customer’s needs. On-site computers assist potential buyers by allowing them to see what their room will look like.

Beyond smart furniture choices, loft dwellers must do the one thing that almost everyone will resist down to the last snowglobe from that 1980 trip to Disneyland.

"One of my biggest phrases is ‘edit,’ " Vogel said. "Edit things out of your life."

Doing so requires minimalist thinking — a new concept for many people who are accustomed to the "bigger is better" attitude.

"It scares people," Prier said. "You’ve got to work from your junk backwards. You really have to ask yourself some really hard questions."